Politico: Olivér Várhelyi says his words about Slovakian PM Robert Fico were taken out of context, after the Georgian Dream leader claimed it was part of a sinister conspiracy.
Tensions are running high between the EU and Georgia as the country tries to push through a Russia-style law which would classify some EU-funded NGOs and media outlets as “foreign agents.”
In a statement posted on Facebook Thursday, Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that his government is facing “abusive blackmail” from the West, and said a senior EU official had hinted he could face the same fate as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot four times earlier this month.
“The threat aired during a phone call with a European Commissioner was astonishing,” he wrote. “In my conversation, the European Commissioner listed a number of measures Western politicians can take after [Georgia passes] the transparency law and, while listing these measures, [the Commissioner] said ‘look what happened to Fico, you should be very careful.’”
In a statement published late Thursday night, Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said his words had been “not just fully taken out of context, but also presented to the public in a way which could give rise to a complete misinterpretation of the originally intended aim of my phone call.”
He reiterated the EU’s call for the foreign agent bill to be dropped, and said he had been trying to warn Kobakhidze “not to enflame further the already fragile situation by adopting this law, which could lead to further polarization and to possible uncontrolled situations on the streets of Tbilisi.”
Kobakhidze also linked the May 15 shooting of the Slovak leader — in which a 71-year old suspect has confessed to having acted alone — to the intelligence services of a country “closely linked to the Global War Party.” The phrase, which references a shadowy cabal supposedly responsible for dragging Ukraine into conflict with Russia, echoes Kremlin propaganda, and has been used several times by politicians from the governing Georgian Dream party in recent weeks.
Kobakhidze provided no evidence to substantiate his allegations.
Source: Politico.eu
